Tuesday, June 12, 2007

One In A Million...

Funny thing happened on my way back from Binghamton. As I neared the island of Manhattan and merged onto the Jersey Turnpike, I turned off my Ipod and flipped on the radio. The song that came on: "Don't Stop Believin'." It was eerie -- the ultimate coincidence. Or as Alabama 3 famously sang, one in a million. Keep in mind, it was less than 48 hours since Tony picked up that greasy onion ring and our tv screens unexepectedly turned black. Naturally, "Don't Stop" is now forever branded in our heads as our last cherished memory of The Sopranos (sorry Long Islanders -- it's moved up in the ranks from a cheesey karaoke standard). Not to mention, it was the first time I got chills from a Journey song. But it wasn't just Steve Perry and Neal Schon who haunted me -- it was the whole experience of being pissed off on the Turnpike, heading home, just like Tony had done every Sunday at 9:01 p.m. for the past eight years.

So I know I promised I wouldn't editorialize, but I will say one thing -- the more I watch "the episode," the more it grows on me. After a second viewing, I've decided that I like it more than ever. I mean, what did I really expect to happen? This is The Sopranos for God's Sake! Since when did anything on The Sopranos make you feel all warm inside? Never! That is why it was so great, so respected. Week after week, it challenged us to think outside the box; and the last episode was no different. Kudos to David Chase for not selling out to those who wanted everything tidied up neatly like it was the last episode of Dharma & Greg. And to think, people actually cancelled their HBO subscriptions over this -- are you kidding?? These must be the same folks who tune in weekly to "Deal, Or No Deal..." More the reason why HBO is sittin' on top of the world.

2 comments:

People are cancelling their HBO subscriptions because Entourage has been really bad this season.

That being said, I personally didn't necessarily want The Sopranos to be a neat and tidy present just given to me, but there are just a few rules that Chase violated in wrapping up a show. Namely, don't fucking introduce new characters into a series when you're less than three hours from the show being done.

I imagine HBO would be losing many more viewers if it weren't for Big Love. I was always a resister of the show, but after catching a few episodes, it's kind of drawing me in. And finally, it took me two episodes, but John From Cincinatti had a great ending last week and will keep my attention for the season.